The humanities examine the human experience and culture. How can anything be more complex? While the sciences and math are difficult but typically result in only one right answer, the humanities force you to consider different and sometimes conflicting vantages. It takes skill and patience to develop the critical thinking necessary to take on these complex issues. Sure, there may be no correct answer, but in trying to find it, we are able to uncover and express a bigger understanding of others and ourselves. To study the humanities is to handle a variety of different opinions or viewpoints to find which position you find most compelling and then determine how to argue that particular point.
If you leave college with simply the same ideas or philosophy, or you have never doubted your own convictions, then I believe that you have wasted your four years. Whether or not other opinions are right or wrong, I believe that we must learn to understand both sides of any story or develop the capability to properly defend your own side. To articulate your own judgments while respecting your opponent is a crucial skill that many people lack. And why shouldn’t we utilize the space, the students and the professors we have at Hamilton to realize this?
A Project by Sharon Liu '17 